This invention relates to a simplified sail structure which may be attached to conventional bicycles or similar vehicles of locomotion.
There have been a number of proposals for mounting a sail or sail assemby on a bicycle for being propelled by the wind. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,986,722, 4,557,495, 3,994,508, 2,038,166, 947,701 and 639,107. Many of these earlier proposals involve mounting the sail in a location where the bicycle rider could, to a certain extent, control the positioning of the sail. Of course in attempting to control the position of the sail, the rider would normally have to yield some control over the bicycle itself. Many of the proposals also called for provision of a fairly large sail surface area utilizing a loose sail material. Employment of such a large sail may provide the desired motive power, assuming the wind is blowing in the appropriate direction, but it also can give rise to instability and loss of control of the bicycle if a sudden wind shift or gust of wind occurs. Finally, many of the proposals suggest mounting the sail on the front or side of the bicycle at a location where it could potentially interfere with the operation and steering of the bicycle or at least the vision of a rider.